OPEC stands for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. It is a global organization made up of 15 member countries whose primary objective is to coordinate and unify the petroleum policies of its member countries in order to secure fair and stable prices for petroleum producers and a regular supply for consumers. The organization was founded in 1960 and its headquarters is located in Vienna, Austria. The current OPEC members are: Algeria, Angola, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Congo, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, Equatorial Guinea, Ecuador, and Republic of the Congo.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was founded in Baghdad, Iraq, in September 1960, with five founding members: Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela. These countries were brought together by their shared interest in ensuring fair prices for their oil exports and stabilizing the market for oil.
In the early years, OPEC had little success in influencing global oil prices, but this changed in the 1970s when the organization, led by its most powerful member, Saudi Arabia, began to use its collective production power to influence prices.
In 1973, the Arab oil embargo against the United States and other countries that supported Israel during the Yom Kippur War led to an oil crisis and a sharp increase in global oil prices. This event marked the first time OPEC successfully used its production power to influence prices, and it set the stage for OPEC's continued role in the global oil market.
In the following years, OPEC's power grew as oil prices continued to rise, and by the late 1970s, the organization controlled more than 50% of the world's oil supply. The member countries continued to exert influence on oil prices through production quotas and by adjusting production levels.
OPEC's influence on the global oil market has been subject to fluctuations, it had a significant impact on oil prices during the 1970s and 1980s, but its influence waned in the 1990s and early 2000s as non-OPEC countries increased their production and the world's demand for oil slowed. In recent years, OPEC has again become an influential player in the global oil market, with the organization and its allies, often referred to as OPEC+, making coordinated production cuts to stabilize prices.